Trees may be moved for a variety of reasons. For example, tree nurseries or garden centers may grow trees to certain heights or ages to provide for planting that will result in faster landscape transformation than if seeds were planted. In another example, a property owner may wish to relocate a tree to avoid its destruction when it grows too large for a given location. Other reasons abound.
Regardless of reason, movement of trees is a challenging proposition. Trees are unwieldy elongate loads, constructed of roots (frequently balled into a rootball), a trunk (which can be heavy and dangerous in larger trees, or at risk of snapping in smaller trees), and branches with leaves which are easily broken. Transportation of trees poses risk of damaging the tree and is hazardous to laborers. Frequently, more than one laborer is required to move the tree.
It would be beneficial to have safe, efficient techniques for moving trees and similarly sized and shape loads presenting comparable problems.